Google sued for unlawful discrimination

Employers in New Jersey and the rest of the U.S. are prohibited from discriminating against workers in all aspects of employment on the basis of certain protected statuses. Recently, Google was sued by a former employee of Youtube for its allegedly discriminatory recruiting and hiring practices.

According to the lawsuit, Google reportedly directed its recruiters to purge all applications that it received from white or Asian males. The recruiters were told that they should instead only search for applicants who were Hispanic, female, black or Latinx. The former Youtube employee claims that he complained to Google about its stated hiring practices and was demoted and then fired as a result.

The lawsuit names Google and 25 unnamed employees who enforced the allegedly discriminatory recruitment policies. The complaint referenced memoranda and emails. In one directive, recruiters were told to get rid of all applications that were from non-diverse candidates for technical positions. Federal and state anti-discrimination laws make it illegal to refuse to extend job offers to otherwise qualified applicants solely on the basis of their gender or race.

Workplace discrimination on the basis of gender, race and other protected statuses is prohibited. Despite the laws, employers still routinely engage in discriminatory job actions. People who believe that they have been discriminated against because of their protected characteristics might want to consult with experienced employment law attorneys. If the lawyers believe that discriminatory actions occurred, they may assist their clients with filing complaints with the proper state and federal agencies. If the clients are given leave to file lawsuits, the attorneys may then help by drafting and filing the civil complaints in the courts that have jurisdiction to hear the matters. This may help people to recover damages while also helping to change the workplace culture at the companies that discriminated.